My Hero

My Grandpa is a hero.

He went to war and with a smile and a chuckle he tells us about close encounters and adventures that happened to him "over there".  He turns away and does not tell us about the nightmares he must have also witnessed.

My Grandpa is a hero.

He built his own business.  He hired kids from town and made them feel like they were valued and important and needed, even for small tasks.  He worked hard and long. His work became who people knew him as, "Al the Baker".  He built a reputation and many friendships and touched lives each day, all through his yummy bread and pastries with a side of humour and gruff one liners.

My Grandpa is a hero.

Everyday he fights battles with his own body that aches, fumbles, wearies and doesn't always listen to what he tells it to do.  Each day getting up and finding something else to pay attention to: baking biscuits for someone who could use encouraging, soup for company, attending to the garden or household needs...putting himself off and taking up the cause of living real life.

My Grandpa is a hero.

He came into our family when we needed a Grandpa.  He has loved my Grandma for 16 years and has even learned how to share the kitchen with her.  He has accepted us as his own grand-kids without reservation, sharing his life, his interests and his integrity with us.

A hero is brave. A hero works hard and puts others needs before his own.  A hero shows strength and endurance and rises to meet the challenges, big or small, as they come.  A hero loves unconditionally and teaches others the value of living a life of integrity.

My Grandpa is a hero.